INFORMATION SECTION: EDUCATION
INTRODUCTION

Articles and handouts for teachers and parents, with lots of practical tips. Read up on a condition or disorder in the Conditions information section of this site and then get some school-related tips or materials in this section. The top section of this page provides information that applies to a number of disorders. The lower part of the page provides specific education-related files organized by disorder. .

CHALLENGING KIDS, CHALLENGED TEACHERS AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW!

My new book with Sheryl Pruitt, Challenging Kids, Challenged Teachers is now available for pre-order from Woodbine House:

Challenging Kids, Challenged Teachers Challenging Kids, Challenged Teachers is an educator's go-to source for creating a supportive environment to successfully teach children with multiple neurological disorders including Tourette's Syndrome, OCD, ADHD, LD, Nonverbal Learning Disability, Pervasive Developmental Disorders, Asperger's Syndrome, Anxiety Disorders, Depression, Executive Dysfunction, Sensory Processing Disorder, Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Strep (PANDAS), Bipolar Disorder, "Storms" or "Rages", Oppositional Defiant Disorder, and Sleep Problems. Parents, school psychologists, and social workers will also find this book essential reading.

Challenging Kids, Challenged Teachers also includes a glossary and resources, and its appendix of screening tools, forms, and checklists are on the accompanying CD-ROM for easy reproduction.

The book will be shipped mid-June. If you pre-order now, there's a discount.

NEED HELP RIGHT NOW COMING UP WITH ACCOMMODATION IDEAS?

Looking for a convenient guide to helpful accommodations for students with a variety of disorders? Order my book, Find a Way or Make a Way (2009) from Parkaire Press:

Find a Way or Make a Way Find a Way or Make a Way:
Checklists of Helpful Accommodations for Students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Executive Dysfunction, Mood Disorders, Tourette's Syndrome, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and Other Neurological Challenges

The book is designed to provide lots of practical ideas to incorporate in a student's plan and also has sections on accommodations for homework, tests, sleep problems, and the almost-always present handwriting problems. Order now!

ARTICLES AND FILES THAT APPLY TO A NUMBER OF CONDITIONS

Create a User-Friendly Classroom (PDF File)
Leslie E. Packer, PhD, 2000 (revised 2004)
The classroom environment can reduce problems for students with a variety of neurobehavioral conditions 

Classroom Tips: Accommodating Medication Side Effects (PDF File)
Leslie E. Packer, PhD, 2000 (revised 2002)
Many students with neurobehavioral conditions will be on medications requiring accommodations

Teacher Tools: Screen for Homework Problems (PDF File)
Leslie E. Packer, PhD, revised 2002
Teachers:   Send this quick survey home to the parents of your students to find out if there are homework problems you need to know about

Parent Tools: Note Your Homework Concerns (PDF File)
Leslie E. Packer, PhD, revised 2003
Parents:   If you're concerned about homework, fill this out and send it to your child's teacher with a note that you'd like to discuss your concerns.

Parent Tools: Organizing Your Concerns (PDF File)
Leslie E. Packer, PhD
A worksheet for parents help you organize concerns and prepare for meetings with school personnel.

Teacher Tools: Screen for Organizational Problems (PDF File)
Leslie E. Packer, PhD, revised 2002
Teachers:   Send this quick survey home to the parents of your students to find out if there are organizational deficits you need to address

Teach the "Hidden Curriculum"
Leslie E. Packer, 2009
Students with disabilities feel they are not well-organized, and we need to address that.

Teacher Tools: Screen for Sleep Problems (PDF File)
Leslie E. Packer, PhD, 2002
Teachers:   Send this quick survey home to the parents of your students to find out if there are sleep disorders affecting your students in school

Developing Social Competence for All Students (or PDF File)
Vincent, Horner, & Sugai, 2002
Developing a school-wide program and incorporating social skills training in the curriculum

Helping Students with Disabilities Succeed in State and District Writing Assessments (or PDF File)
Warger, 2002

Assistive Technology for Students with Mild Disabilities: Update 2002 (or PDF File)
Behrmann & Jerome, 2002

Occupational Therapy in Educational Settings Under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (or PDF File)
AOTA

Children and Youth With Disabilities in Public Schools (PDF File)
Planty, Hussar, Snyder, et al., 2008
The Condition of Education - 2008 (NCES 2008-031).

Social Skills and Academic Achievement (PDF File)
Steedly, Schwartz, Levin, & Luke, 2008
National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY)

Improving the Quality of Student Notes (PDF File)
Potts, 1993
Teaching students to take better notes

Improving Your Test-Taking Skills (PDF File)
Boyd, 1988
A handout for students

Making the A: How to Study for Tests (PDF File)
Loulou, 1995
A handout for students

Five Homework Strategies for Students with Disabilities (or PDF File)
Warger, 2001
Practical tips 

Helping Your Child with Homework (PDF File)
U.S. Dept. of Education, 2002
For elementary through middle school students.

Getting Ready to Go Back to School -- in June?? (PDF File)
Leslie E. Packer, PhD, revised 2003
To make back-to-school easier, plan ahead.

Tips for Students (PDF File)
Leslie E. Packer, PhD, 2000
Some tips for high school students

The Warning Signs of Learning Disabilities (or PDF File)
Bergert, 2000

The College Search (PDF File)
Judy Simon, CSW
Time to look for a college?  Here are some helpful tips

Free Appropriate Public Education for Students With Disabilities: Requirements Under Section 504 of The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (PDF File)
U.S. Department of Education, 2007

Parent Tools: Requesting School Accommodations for Your Child (PDF File)
Leslie E. Packer, PhD
A sample letter to show you how

Parent Tools: Preparing for a Meeting with Your Child's Committee on Special Education (PDF File)
Leslie E. Packer, PhD
If your child is going to be considered for special education eligibility, these tips might help you prepare for the meeting

Assessment & Accommodations (PDF File)
Luke & Schwartz, 2007
National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY)

Accommodations Most Often Allowed in State Policies
Thurlow & Bolt, 2001
NCEO Synthesis Report 41 on accommodations for students with disabilities

A Summary of Research on the Effects of Test Accommodations: 2002 Through 2004 (PDF File)
Johnstone, Altman, Thurlow, & Thompson, 2006
National Center on Educational Outcomes, Technical Report 45

ADDITIONAL ARTICLES AND FILES FOR SPECIFIC CONDITIONS

ANXIETY DISORDERS:

ASPERGER'S AND AUTISM:

ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER:

  • Identifying and Treating Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Resource for Home and School (PDF File)
    U.S. Dept. of Education, 2008
    This free resource includes information on evaluations and school issues.
  • Classroom Tips for Dealing with ADHD (PDF File)
    Leslie E. Packer, PhD, 2000
    Strategies for managing specific features of ADHD.
  • ADD and ADHD: An Overview for School Counselors (or PDF File)
    Pledge, 2002
    Basic overview includes interventions
  • Teaching Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder:  Instructional Strategies and Practices (PDF File)
    U.S. Dept. of Education, 2008
  • Monroe County ADHD Task Force Best Practice Manual (PDF File)
    Monroe County ADHD Task Force, 1998
    A collaborative model for teaching students with ADHD
  • Accommodations for Postsecondary Students wtih ADHD (PDF File)
    From the Job Accommodation Network
  • Dual Exceptionalities (or PDF File)
    Willard-Holt, 1999 
  • Gifted Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (or PDF File)
    Neihart, 2003 
  • ADHD and Children Who Are Gifted (or PDF File)
    Webb & Lattimer, 1993 

AUDITORY PROCESSING DISORDER:

EXECUTIVE DYSFUNCTION:

  • Classroom Tips for Dealing with Executive Dysfunction (PDF File)
    Leslie E. Packer, PhD
    Help for teachers of students with organizational, sequencing, or time managment issues 

MOOD DISORDERS (BIPOLAR AND DEPRESSION):

  • Helping Children with Early-Onset Bipolar to Learn ( .doc File)
    Parents of Children with Early-Onset Bipolar
    Information for teachers, articles, resources
  • Classroom Tips for Accommodating Students with Depression or Bipolar Disorder (PDF File)
    Leslie E. Packer, PhD, 2000  

OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER: 

  • Awareness Exercise for Teachers (PDF File)
    Leslie E. Packer, PhD, revised 2002
  • Classroom Tips for Accommodating Students with OCD (PDF File)
    Leslie E. Packer, PhD, 2000 (revised 2004)  
    Consejos para integrar a alumnos con Trastorno Obsesivo Compulsivo (versión española) (    PDF)

SLEEP DISORDERS:

  • Classroom Tips:  Accommodating Sleep Disorders (PDF File)
    Leslie E. Packer, PhD, 2002 (revised 2004)
  • Awake at the Wheel (PDF File)
    National Institutes of Health
    This free pamphlet teaches teens about sleep and driving safety
  • Teacher's Guide to Awake at the Wheel (PDF File)
    National Institutes of Health
    Companion guide to the above 

TICS AND TOURETTE'S:

  • Tic Awareness Exercise for Teachers (PDF File)
    Leslie E. Packer, PhD, revised 2002
    Try it.... you may not like it, but it will give you some sense of what your student might be experiencing
  • Tic-Related School Problems: Impact on Functioning, Accommodations, and Interventions (PDF File)
    Leslie E. Packer, PhD, 2005
    Reprints of my article in Behavior Modification (November, 2005) can be requested via the on-site contact form.
  • Educating Children with Tourette Syndrome (PDF File)
    Leslie E. Packer, PhD, 1995
    Disseminated to all schools in NYS by the NYS Dept. of Education
  • Increasing the Effectiveness of Education for Students with Tourette Syndrome (PDF File)
    J. Wilson and B. Shrimpton, 2003
    Describes a multi-faceted approach to educating children with Tourette Syndrome
  • Tic Disorders and Tourette Syndrome School Care Plan (PDF File)
    From Washington State (revised 1999)
    Information for school personnel
  • School-Based Occupational Therapy Services for Children With Tourette Syndrome  (PDF File)
    Leslie E. Packer, PhD & Michelle Gentile, MA, ORT/L, 1994
    Information on TS+ for school-based OTs
  • Classroom Tips for Accommodating Students with Tics or Tourette's Syndrome (PDF File)
    Leslie E. Packer, PhD, 1998 
    Consejos para manejar los tic en el aulajos para manejar los tic en el aula (versión española) (PDF)
  • Conducting a Peer Education Program on Tourette's (PDF File)
    Leslie E. Packer, PhD, revised 2004
    Some ideas on conducting a peer education on TS.
    Educar a compañeros de niños y jovenes con Sindrome de Tourette (versión española) (    PDF)

POINTS OF INTEREST

School-Related Links
By condition or disorders

For Your School Library
Books for Children

Literature on Children and Disabilities (PDF File)
NICHCY compilation, 2001

Articles and discussions of some of the behavioral concerns are covered in the Behavior Information Section of this site, where you will also find articles on bullying in school.

Don't forget to check the Miscellaneous section for more free guides and handouts, too!

Tourette Syndrome "Plus" © Copyright 1998 - 2010 Leslie E. Packer, PhD. except as noted.
All rights reserved 
This page last updated January 16, 2010. Reprint Policy. Privacy Policy. Contact.